“Velociraptors Were Actually Feathered Animals.”

“They grew up to 100 pounds, about the size of a wolf.”

These 10mm scale metal miniatures of three Velociraptors are produced by “Magister Militum” as code DIN43 from their Pre Historic Dinosaurs, Animals & Marine Reptiles range, and come in packs of five models. The late Cretaceous creatures are all “sculpted with feathers” and have been sat languishing upon the ends of some wooden painting sticks in a cup, since I first purchased them a few years ago at the Newbury & Reading Wargames Society’s show “Colours”.

Each animal was initially primed with two coats of “Vallejo” Heavy Brown, before being washed in a combination of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. They were then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Brown, and had their feathered necks ‘picked out’ using a combination of Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These Ape Minions have required some gap-filling with Green-stuff

I wasn’t all that happy with this particular colour scheme, despite some time researching all the different palette possibilities Palaeontologists proposed a feathered Velociraptor could be, so tried blending the neck in with the rest of the dinosaur’s body by giving it a light dry-brush of (even more) “Vallejo” Heavy Brown. However, this didn’t seem to work either, so in the end I simply settled upon shading these ‘highlights’ with a little additional “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

As a final touch I attempted to dab a little “Vallejo” White on to the claws and teeth of each miniature, and later splashed them with “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. The three figures were subsequently super-glued to a 30mm x 40mm plastic rectangular base, so as to match my preferred basing style for all my other 10mm miniatures.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Five Sorcerous Sentinels are currently on the painting table

I was originally planning only a couple of these Velociraptors as part of one of my self-imposed weekly challenges. Happily however, the following week’s subject matter, randomly chosen by the turning of a playing card, revealed I needed to pigment another single 10mm model, so I quickly made up my mind to simply populate a single stand with a trio of deadly killers in order to kill two birds with one stone.

Rather frustratingly though, I have realised that I only seem to own two more of the figures, so I’ll need to pick up an extra bag or three of the dinosaurs if I want to make any more bases. This is a tad annoying as I was only stood looking at the entire range in the flesh a little over a week ago, when I visited “Magister Militum” whilst attending “Salute” 2021. Although I have dug out a load of previously painted figures from the range that I am currently in the process of re-basing/touching up…

“Blood Bowl Sevens Teams Are Drafted..."

A Dwarf Blitzer (09), Linesman (05) and bareheaded Blitzer (14)

"Greetings eager sports fans, and welcome to the latest edition of Sunday Night Football. I'm Jim Maddenberg and along with my comrade-in-arms Thom Grassyglade, I’ll be bringing you all news concerning the latest developments for Blood Bowl Sevens.”

"The big news today is that the amateur game appears to have attracted the attention of an aspiring Dwarf team called the Rusty Buckets. Thom, those are some seriously old long-beards at no mistake. Do they really go as far back as the game’s classic second edition..?”

A Dwarf Kicker (01), Blitzer (10) and portly Blocker (15)

“That’s right, Jim. Remember the days of the World’s Edge Wanderers, Zhufbar Marktag, Durums Destroyers and the Dwarf Anvils..? Well, all eight of the players on this latest team’s roster stem from those heady days of single cast metal sculpts, courtesy of a much-appreciated gift from Iain White of “caveadsum1471” fame.”

“Why the club will even be re-employing an old Kicker model from the Dwarf Giants to use as a Runner for the modern-day rules. Sadly, there’s no sign of a glamorous Cheerleader or two, though Jim. But, to be honest, I doubt the Rusty Buckets would currently have the copper pieces to hire any.”

A Dwarf Blitzer (09), Linesman (07) and Linesman (05)

“So what’s the plan for these old, second-hand players then, Thom? Is their colourful yellow and blue attire going to survive the transition to the amateur leagues, or can we expect a completely new kit for these grizzled thirty-year plus veterans..?”

“Well time certainly isn’t going to be these guys’ friend, Jim, as they’re all due to be re-primed and given some particularly rusty-looking sportswear which better suits their club name. In addition, a further eight Dwarf players are impatiently ‘waiting in the wings’ to form either a second Old World Sevens side, or help bolster the Rusty Buckets’ roster to becoming a full-blown professional Blood Bowl team in the near future.”

"Thanks Thom. That just about concludes this particular Blood Bowl Sevens show. But please do join us again next time when we'll be taking a closer look at this club’s change in attire…”

"Salute" Loot 2021

"South London Warlords" WIPs - Paul Hicks' sculpt, the Boy With Spitfire, is slowly being painted

After almost a two-year absence, I was finally able to once again make the pilgrimage to the ExCeL convention centre in Custom House, East London earlier this month, so as to add a few more bags of lead and plastic to my ever-swelling ‘incline of inspiration’. I must confess I didn’t really know what to expect from the much delayed show, especially as a number of companies decided to announce their non-attendance at short notice, such as “Mierce Miniatures” - who appeared to have posted up their no-show decision on social media the evening before it actually started.

Happily however, considering just how many manufacturers ultimately decided not to appear without any warning whatsoever, I wasn’t just travelling up to “the Big Smoke” to purchase goodies, but to also meet up with some of my fellow bloggers like Dave Docherty (“One Man And His Brushes”), Tamsin Piper (“Wargaming Girl”) and Ray Rousell (“Don’t Throw A One”). This impromptu get together late in the morning was easily the highlight of the day, and also allowed me to obtain a little heads up as to what these prodigious painters would be potentially pigmenting for the upcoming Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC).

"Reaper Miniatures" WIPs - A Werecrocodile and Werearmadillo

Loot-wise, things were looking rather sparse for a considerably long time, despite it taking me a good hour or so to slowly make my way around all the stalls sat up against the edges of the grand hall. This year’s “lovely little commemorative figure of the Battle Of Britain” immediately caught my eye when I spied it in my goodie bag, and I also managed to pick up a “Reaper Miniatures” Werecrocodile and Werearmadillo from an early seller who seemingly had every Bones figure imaginable for sale. Yet surprisingly, that was it for quite a while as I walked past a disconcertingly high number of empty tables.

Perhaps the show’s biggest deal was from a large stand (whose name escapes me) whose numerous staff were selling both old and new packets of “Flames Of War” models by “Battlefront Miniatures” at half the recommended retail price (RRP). One of my reasons for signing up to the AHPC this year is to ‘push through’ my Late War Germans, so I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to bulk up on some reinforcements. As a result I picked up a 15cm Infantry Gun Platoon, a 7.5cm Infantry Gun Platoon, a Fallschirmjager Rifle Platoon, and a D-Day Mission Token Set. To be honest I could have bought more, but as the sellers kept having to use their phones to web-search the RRP for each blister I selected before giving me a price, my (im)patience dictated that I settled upon just the bare essentials.

"Red Eagle Miniatures" WIPs - These French Line skirmishing figures have been primed

Disappointingly, the centre of the hall was probably where the ‘no-shows’ made their biggest impact as there were some considerable holes in the line-up, and despite looking I never managed to find the likes of “Gripping Beast”, “Hasslefree” or “Troll Trader” – the last of which usually sees me fork out an inordinate amount of dosh on genres/ranges I never ever anticipated buying. To be honest, this soon caused me to return to the edge stalls for a second perusal, and thus caused me to miss Dave Stone’s “Wargames Terrain Workshop” stand completely. Though I did get to spend five minutes chatting to Duncan Rhodes about his new “Two Thin Coats Paints” range.

This subsequent, albeit whirlwind, tour of the outer tables ultimately landed me with my most expensive purchase of the day, as I returned to “Red Eagle Miniatures” and their 10mm range of Franco-Prussian models. This has always been a period which has fascinated me, but I have never properly ventured into it before now. In addition, I tend to predominantly stick with “Pendraken Miniatures” for my 10mm fix, so I actually felt a little guilty buying a range I knew they produced from someone else. However, in the end I decided to pick up a packet each from most of the e-commerce company’s infantry range to trial during the AHPC, along with a couple of cavalry units too…

“Simmer Down!”

“You especially.”

This 28mm scale white metal model of Simian Minion D: Man-catcher is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately or as part of their Simian Minions four-figure collection. The figure is designed to be used with the company's "7TV" United Radionics Programme Guide, but I intend to field it as one of several gorilla soldiers for my ongoing project based upon Franklin J. Schaffner's 1968 science fiction film "Planet Of The Apes".

Having super-glued a Simian head onto the torso, the miniature was initially primed with two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being enthusiastically dry-brushed in Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal. It was then drenched in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, before having its trousers and sleeves pigmented using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Citadel" Druchii Violet.

A selection of my old English Civil War collection by "Front Rank Figurines"

Next I applied a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to the ape’s “wielding a sinister man-catcher” and ammunition belt, whilst the rope on its hand-weapon was painted using some Heavy Brown. All three of these areas were later shaded using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Finally, I 'picked out' the gorilla’s very visible teeth using a combination of “Vallejo” White and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

Alongside pigmenting my latest MoVember miniature I have been following Iain White’s simply splendid rebasing of a load of 28mm English Civil War miniatures I was able to personally give him during the summer. I actually bought these old “Front Rank Figurines” second-hand myself over twenty years ago, and had planned to use them as the basis for some Pike and shot wargaming. However, having started to base them individually (on two-pence pieces) I soon lost the will to live, especially when I later discovered that the sculpts were no longer produced so I couldn’t paint any more to match their previous owner’s rather unique, colourful style.

Prince Rupert, Boy and some Royalist cavalry rebased by Iain

Fortunately, Iain has really put the effort it to rank them up appropriately, and the cavalry look especially impressive en masse. I purchased the collection in several batches, including some Scottish forces, cannons and even Prince Rupert’s pet hunting poodle Boy, and resultantly was always a bit disconcerted by the inconsistency in some the paint-jobs – almost as if some units were rather rushed in an effort to get them on the battlefield. Happily though, Iain’s basing process appears to blend them all together rather well, and I would urge you to visit his excellent blog “Caveadsum1471” for more pictures.

In addition, I walked away from our meeting with some more lead to add to my own burgeoning collection, most notably the 1988 edition of “Blood Bowl” by “Games Workshop”, complete with a full metal Dwarf team. Iain was also super generous enough to gift me his copy of the Spacefarers Guide To Alien Races by “Phoenix Games” and the excellent Starships & Spacecraft playing aid “approved for the use with Traveller” as penned by Dave Sering. Two books which have really got my imagination rocking with ideas for future space battles…

"Take Your Stinking Hands Off Me…”

“…You damn dirty human!”

This 28mm scale white metal model of a 'savage Simian Minion straight from the lab' is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately or as part of their Simian Minions four-figure collection. The figure is designed to be used with the company's "7TV" United Radionics Programme Guide, but I intend to field it as one of many gorillas for my ongoing project based upon Franklin J. Schaffner's 1968 science fiction film "Planet Of The Apes".

Having super-glued a Leader Simian head onto the torso so it could denote the soldier was an officer of some kind, the miniature was initially primed with two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being enthusiastically dry-brushed in Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal. It was then drenched in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, before having its trousers and sleeves pigmented using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Citadel" Druchii Violet.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Simian Minions

The Ape with Baton's face, ammunition belt, rifle and strap were treated to a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna", whilst the soldier's wooden stick was painted using some Charred Brown. All of these areas were later shaded using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Finally, I 'picked out' the metallic parts of the gorilla's firearm with a little "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil.

Other bloggers taking part in Movember 2021 are:

Rantings From Under The Wargames Table

PMPainting

Wargames Terrain Workshop

With the first of my Simian Minions completed for this year’s Movember Challenge, I thought I’d try to progress a few more of them for my next entry. Two of these miniatures utilise the self-same Ape with Baton body as used with my Gorilla officer, but I’ve also added a third model to the mix which carries a man-catching noose.

"Mongoose Publishing" WIPs - A Gorilla Gangster, a Jimp and Walter the Wobot

In addition, I have been working on a few more of my old metal figures from the 2012 “Judge Dredd Miniatures Game: Block War” Kickstarter by “Mongoose Publishing”, as I still need quite a few more criminals (and the odd non-combatant) to stop my games simply being a Justice Department verses Undead affair. Foremost of these, and with half an eye upon my Movember Challenge, is a Gorilla Gangster, who may well enthuse me enough to actually work my way through the Apes Of Mega-City One boxed set.

However, I have also dug out a rather emaciated looking Jimp and Judge Dredd’s house robot, Walter. I’ve actually got quite a bit of clean-up work to do on the former Grand Hall Of Justice robo-servant as having permanently attached his individual hand-claws in place, the super-glue would appear to have made something of a mess down the figure’s left-hand side…

“Beyond Our Time, Beyond Our Universe.”

“There is a planet besieged by alien invaders.”

These four 28mm Sorcerous Sentinels are produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be purchased from the company’s ever-expanding fantasy range as SKU: DEAL 304. “Otherworldly watchers as deadly as they are mysterious”, the figures are clearly inspired by the “race of aliens that serve The Beast” in Peter Yates’ 1983 film “Krull”.

Living “in servitude to a force greater than themselves” the quartet were initially primed using a double-helping of “Vallejo” German Grey and shaded with some “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I then dry-brushed them with (more) “Vallejo” German Grey, before layering their swords with Gunmetal, and ‘picking out’ their heads with Heavy Bluegrey.

Spider-Man and Loki set out to defeat Marvel Battleworlds

Both of these areas were subsequently washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil. As a final touch, I delicately applied a little “Vallejo” Bluegrey to the miniatures’ eye sockets, and added (more) Gunmetal to the sharp edges of their hand-weapons’ blades.

In addition to finishing four of the nine Sorcerous Sentinels I currently have sat upon my painting table, I have also managed to get in a couple of games of Marvel Battleworld by “Funko Games”. Described as a “cooperative, expandable, collectible adventure game featuring dozens of characters from all over the Marvel Universe”, we only used the contents which came in the Pop! Marvel Battleworld - Mega Pack featuring an exclusive Negative-Zone Spider-Man figure, and were determined to keep playing until we ‘unlocked’ the two heroes quite literally “trapped in Thanostones!”

Spider-Man and Loki successful 'unlock' Iron Man (Infinity) from a Thanostone

Our opening contest saw Spider-Man and Loki team-up against some Frost Giants and a Thanostone (in the Hulkland Jungle) respectively. Spidey’s high speed made it easy for him to defeat “the foremost enemies of the Asgardians”, but Loki was eventually overwhelmed during his travels amongst some carnivorous plants and living vines. Fortunately, the pair finally managed to properly pair up when a second Thanostone presented itself in the Deadlands, and having successfully rescued the Infinity incarnation of Iron Man went on to win the game.

In the next battle, Ant-Ant and Iron Man duked it out across the Battleworld in order to eventually retrieve Spider-Ham from the Thanostone. This was a much easier game than the first due to the Infinity powers Tony Stark’s alter-ego started with, as well as some lucky rolls using Ant-Ant’s Shrink ability – which causes his attack to hit on a 1 rather than miss…

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Planet Of The Apes" Movember 2021

"Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devil's pawn."

This month's themed attempt to diminish my mountain of metal, plastic and resin models has been heavily influenced to complete a number of “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” miniatures inspired by Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 science fiction movie “Planet Of The Apes”. Rather disappointingly, I actually started this particular project twelve months ago, so am determined this time round that I will get at least enough savage Simian Minions finished to hold a small skirmish or two on my tabletop.

In addition, as Dick Garrison over on the “Rantings From Under The Wargames Table” has kindly agreed to join me in our old Movember Challenge this month, I figured a load of hairy apes and grizzled astronauts would be entirely appropriate subjects to paint. However, I have also ‘dusted down’ a few other eligible models from my ‘bearded’ backlog for consideration, such as the contents of the Apes of Mega-City One set by “Mongoose Publishing”, which was made for their long since OOP “Judge Dredd Miniatures Game”.

"Magister Militum" WIPs - The three 10mm feathered Velociraptors just need some shading

Alongside this modest target, I’ll also be continuing with my weekly challenges chosen upon the turn of a playing card. This time round though I must admit to having been initially a bit flummoxed by the task to work on a pair of 10mm figures. My first reaction was to set about building a small stand for my already quite comprehensively-sized German/Russian Winter War forces by “Pendraken Miniatures”. But considering that I’m currently persevering with a 15mm German Army for “Flames Of War”, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be working on two World War Two armies in differing scales at the same time.

Luckily, I then spied an old “The War That Time Forgot” project from thirteen years ago using 10mm sculpts by “Magister Militum”. I had tried breathing fresh life into this endeavour just a couple of years ago with some new purchases, and whilst that particular effort regrettably failed to reignite my enthusiasm for dinosaur-based battles, it is three of these ‘recently-bought’ (feathered) Velociraptors which I’ve decided to (re)paint over the next several days.

October 2021 - "Battlefront Miniatures" becomes my second favourite manufacturer of the year

Productivity wise, the past month saw me being slightly more prolific than I was this time last year; albeit nowhere near as industrious as I have been in the past. I did though manage to duly submit a miniature a week for Zomtober, and fully-finish the (minimum) strength 12cm Mortar Platoon by “Battlefront Miniatures” I want to field as part of my German beach Defence Force for “Flames Of War”. 

I’m hoping to maintain my momentum for the 15mm “World War Two tabletop miniatures wargame” during the next few weeks by completing both a full-strength Panzergrenadier Infantry Platoon and an accompanying sMG34 Machine-Gun Platoon. Considering all the other painting going on this goal might seem a little overly-optimistic, but will actually just require me to successfully get a brush-tip upon sixteen of the diminutively-sized soldiers in total.